F&ck You!
by The-Jellybaby-Bandit
Summary: *ON HIATUS* - Artie's feeling down, Puck's feeling confused and angry. Can their newfound friendship help them both find the happiness they desire? - Artie/Puck friend fic with elements of Artie/Tina and Kurt/Puck - that also means SLASH
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own rights to any of the characters from Glee. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. **

*****WARNING SERIES TWO SPOILERS IN THIS STORY*****

**A/N: After watching the most recent episode of Glee, I got caught up in the notion of writing my own Artie/Puck friend fic. I'm not sure whether it has potential to go anywhere – in fact I'm almost certain that it doesn't – but I enjoyed writing it so I thought I'd share it with the group ;D**

**It's set at the start of 'Never Been Kissed' but goes completely AU from that point onwards borrowing here and there from various aspects of the episode and threading in my own twisted imagination at other points.**

**I hope you all enjoy.**

"**F*ck You****" by The Jellybaby Bandit**

* * *

Seeing Tina happy with Mike Chang was really starting to wear on Artie. Wherever he went there they were, making googly eyes at each other and endlessly checking each other's tonsils for polyps or something.

Artie sat in the lunch room, his bowl of Tapioca pudding in front of him and untouched – usually pudding was his favourite part of a meal – and Tapioca the favourite pudding of puddings.

But not today.

Today like each and every day, that he had been treated to a front row seat at the 'Mike and Tina Snog-a-thon', perfectly decent food tasted like ashes in his mouth.

It was his own fault he supposed. After all, it was he who had stupidly gotten caught up in a Halo marathon over the summer and missed Tina's birthday. It was he who had gotten dumped – Artie's breath hitched at the recollection before he took a shaky steadying breath – he was the one that had been _dumped_ in favour of Mike Chang.

And from that point onwards, everything had gone to Hell – Artie didn't even want to think about what had happened between him and Brittany. As sweet as the Cheerio had been about everything, that was such a mistake of epic proportions.

Artie had stopped enjoying things – nothing seemed to keep his interest anymore – especially Halo. He had unplugged his Xbox the same afternoon that Tina had told him about her hooking up with Mike at Asian Camp and he had not yet found the desire to switch the console back on.

It was a constant reminder of everything that he'd now lost.

He supposed in hindsight he couldn't blame Tina for her decision. What she'd said was true, her reasoning was sound – he _had been_ a terrible boyfriend. Of course he couldn't comment on the whole 'abs' thing – how exactly was he supposed to do crunches with no legs to work with? It was a little insensitive.

Still Tina had made her decision and now he had to live with it – even if it meant never eating lunch at school again.

"Hey..."

Artie's head snapped up before his face paled seeing Puck standing there with a slushie in his hand. Sighing, Artie took off his glasses and set them down on the table beside his pudding bowl.

"Go on then... just make it quick..."

"What?", Puck's tone held puzzlement as he took a long slurp from his drink through the crazy-bendy straw in the top.

Artie peered at the blurry outline of the jock as he answered with resignation.

"The slushie Puck... just do it already so I can get cleaned up before class..."

Artie was surprised when Puck pulled out the chair sitting empty next to him and sat down. Usually slushie attacks were carried out 'on the fly' so that the culprit, usually Puck or one of the other jocks, could make good their escape before they got caught by a teacher.

"Relax, Ironside – this slushie is for drinking only – you're safe."

Artie's brow furrowed in confusion as he picked up his glasses and tentatively slipped them back onto his face. Looking at the jock sitting beside him Artie couldn't help but voice the question,

"If you're not here to ritually humiliate me in front of my peers then can I ask what it is that you want?"

Artie waited for Puck to respond as the jock had just taken a large gulp of his slushie,

"Woah – brain freeze...", Puck shook his head and snorted, "... can't a guy just sit beside another guy and not have it mean anything? It's not like I'm hitting on you too or anything!"

Artie raised his hands in a defensive posture as he felt the sudden anger from the jock.

"Woah, Puck – chillax already man... wait – too?"

Puck bronze skin seemed to pale slightly before his eyes darted around the lunch room to check if anyone else had caught his slip.

"Shit – keep it down Abrams... and if you ever repeat that to anyone..."

The threat was unmistakeable though Artie gulped as Puck drew his finger across his throat just to make sure.

"Sure – lips – sealed – see?"

Artie drew his finger along his lips for effect. Even though he wasn't speaking however he couldn't quite get past the thought that Puck was bemoaning a guy thinking he was hitting on him when he wasn't.

Was this some kind of bizarre dream he'd slipped into? Was he actually lying face down in his Tapioca pudding having suffered some kind of seizure or fit? Or had Puck just inadvertently admitted to having previously _intentionally _hit on a guy?

_'Nah... I must be having some kind of dream or hallucination...'_

"Ow... guess not...", mumbled Artie as he rubbed his arm where he'd just pinched it rather hard.

"What the Hell did you do that for?", asked Puck as he took another slurp of his drink.

"Just checking I hadn't had an aneurysm or something...", said Artie cheerfully, "... I haven't in case you were wondering..."

"Well break out the streamers and let's have ourselves a party!", drawled Puck causing Artie to chuckle softly.

"So...", said Artie suddenly realising that in all the time he'd known Puck he'd never really had a conversation with him.

Actually this was the longest he'd ever spent in the jock's presence with it being just the two of them.

"Yeah... so... how you been?", asked Puck as his straw made a loud screeching noise as he reached the bottom of his slushie cup.

Puck looked sad as he set the empty cup down on the table and reached over to the untouched bowl in front of Artie.

"You gonna eat this?"

Artie shook his head no, as Puck dragged the bowl over to in front of him and began to devour the contents. Several seconds went by before he realised he hadn't actually replied to the jock's initial question and that Puck appeared to be waiting for him to speak.

"Oh, I'm _fine_ – y'know – I'm on the football team now?"

"You're shittin' me? For real?", Puck's eyebrows raised in surprise as the shovelling motion of the spoon halted midway between the bowl and his mouth, "... I thought The Beast said no."

Artie nodded and watched as a glob of pudding dropped in slow motion to splat onto the table top.

"For real...", assured Artie as he smiled slightly while Puck hurriedly brushed the splash back off of his tee, "... and she did for a little while – but she changed her mind in the end. Doesn't matter though – I only did it to get Tina back and that worked about as well as a pedal powered wheelchair..."

There was an undeniable note of sadness in Artie's voice at the realisation that everything Finn had helped him with had all been for nought.

Puck's chuckling caught Artie off guard as the jock mumbled around his spoon,

"Pedal powered wheelchair – good one..."

Artie's dour mood lifted slightly as he chuckled along with the jock. Artie had long since come to terms with his disability and so had no qualms with using his unusual circumstances for comic effect.

"I picked that up years ago when I first ended up in this thing...", said Artie gesturing to the chair, "... I figured if I'm going to be the one in the chair then I should be allowed to make fun of myself..."

Puck nodded thoughtfully as he scraped the last spoonful of pudding out of the bottom of the bowl,

"How do you do it though? Stay positive all the time? I mean – it must suck right?"

Artie understood what Puck meant even if he hadn't phrased it as elegantly or conscientiously as he perhaps could. Not many people ever wanted to talk about his disability though, they all thought that to remind him of it would somehow make things worse.

As if living day to day, Artie _ever_ got the opportunity to forget!

"I'm in a wheelchair Puck – I broke my back and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Yeah I know but you're always so damn cheerful – do you not want to scream every once in a while?"

Artie nodded, he hadn't always been as well adjusted as he was now.

"Sure – when it first happened, right after the accident – well let's just say I had trouble adapting...", the longer Artie talked on the subject the more animated he became and the cloud that had been hanging over his head steadily evaporated – despite the grisly change in topic, "... it was my Nana that sorta put things in perspective for me."

"Oh yeah?", asked Puck who had since set his spoon down and was now leaning his head on his hands and seemed to be listening intently.

If Artie had stopped to consider that fact he'd have probably been a little freaked out. He and Puck had now been talking civilly for nearly ten minutes – it was by far their longest interaction in, well _ever_.

"Yeah, my Nana was a strong woman – my Papa died young so she brought up my Mom and her five brothers by herself – a real salt of the Earth type of woman, y'know?"

Puck nodded in understanding and gestured for Artie to continue.

"When I got out of the hospital, I sorta shut myself away from the world. I refused to go out – I refused to let my friends in – I thought I was a freak."

Puck's eyes seemed to show a hint of sadness as the jock spoke and again surprised Artie with his insight,

"Sorry dude – if you don't want to talk about this..."

Artie waved off Puck's concern – he'd long ago learnt to let go of any resentment about his condition.

"It's cool – anyways, one day after I'd had yet another argument with my Mom and refused to let my friends in to see me, she sent for Nana."

Puck drew in a breath through his teeth and Artie chuckled and nodded.

"Oh yeah, she whupped my ass good and proper. 'You might not have working legs no more Artemus Abrams but you're buttocks can still feel the sting of my hand...'

Puck snorted at Artie's high pitched impersonation of what was obviously his Nana.

"Artemus?"

It was now Artie's turn to pale dramatically – he'd worked _so _hard over the years to suppress that information and now he'd gone and given it to Puck without thinking.

"Shit – keep it down Puckerman... and if you ever repeat that to anyone..."

Puck just raised an eyebrow at Artie's attempt to parrot the jock's earlier threat right back at him. Truthfully though if Puck wanted to tell everybody his full first name there wasn't much Artie could do about it.

"Sure – lips – sealed – see?", quipped Puck with a smirk.

_'This conversation is getting really weird...'_

Artie checked his watch and saw that it was almost time to head off to Glee – which he supposed now that Puck was back from his time in Juvie – he'd be returning to also. There was still time to finish off his story though before the bell was primed to ring.

"So, after I'd quit crying...", Puck snorted and Artie looked chagrined, "... hey, I was eight remember! Anyways, afterwards, she sat me down and told me all about my Papa and what she'd done when she lost him."

Several seconds of silence passed as Artie slipped into the memory of that day almost a decade earlier. It was Puck who shattered the silence with his question,

"So what'd she do?"

Artie shook himself clear of the melancholy and smiled softly at the recollection.

"She taught me a proverb."

"Schoolboy who play with schoolgirl during wrong period, get caught red-handed...", quipped Puck with a grin.

Artie's laughter rang out over the lunch room drawing attention to the unusual pairing seated at a table all by themselves. Neither cared of course what anyone thought of them – each secure in themselves enough to ignore the whispering and pointed glances.

_'In a way we're both alike in that way...'_

"That's really _wrong_ on so many levels you know that right?", asked Artie though he couldn't keep the broad grin from his face.

"Damn straight, Professor X – that's a life lesson right there – believe me!"

Artie tried to ignore the icky image that Puck's declaration left in his mind's eye and also decided to let the whole 'X-Men' reference slide. Artie happened to like the X-Men, so being compared to Charles Xavier wasn't really a burden for him.

"I'm guessing though that wasn't the proverb your Nana taught you, right?"

Artie shuddered theatrically as he aimed a soft-glare at the jock,

"I love my past. I love my present. I'm not ashamed of what I've had, and I'm not sad because I have it no longer."

Artie remained silent whilst Puck absorbed the words and the meaning behind them.

"Sound advice...", the jock decided.

Artie nodded and cleared his throat which had developed a sudden lump – as it did every time he though of his Nana – before she'd passed when Artie was 13 she had been the rock upon which he'd rebuilt his life.

_'Love you Nana...'_

"So y'see, I don't mind. I might be in a chair for the rest of my life, I might never run on the beach, or stand in the shower, or -"

"Get up on your knees and take a chick from behind?", cut in the jock.

Artie's laughter again rang out, just as the bell for the end of lunch sounded.

"Yeah – that – but I still have quality of life and life is what you make of it."

Taking off his glasses and wiping at his damp eyes, Artie was a little surprised to feel the brake on his chair being disengaged before he was being propelled in the direction of the doors.

"Uh – Puck? Is there any way we could skip the whole throwing me down the stairs bit today?", asked Artie glancing up at Puck over his shoulder.

Artie was surprised, though he would never have voiced it, to see a momentary flash of shame on Puck's face.

"Why not? I'm feeling generous today..."

Artie sighed in relief before he yelped and grabbed at his arm which had suddenly blossomed in pain.

"Ow... What the Hell?", Artie looked up at Puck with an expression of betrayal on his face.

Puck shrugged as he continued to push Artie in the direction of the Choir Room.

"What? I said generous, not charitable."

Artie grumbled as he rubbed at his arm though he didn't argue with the jock's assessment.

"Fair point."

* * *

"Alright guys, settle down..."

Mr Schue stood in front of the assembled gleeks in his usual combo of shirt and sweater-vest requisitioned off some old dude from the 1970's. Puck snorted at his observation earning himself a curious glance from Santana who he noted with some dread was eyeing him like a side of beef.

Normally Puck would have been all over Santana like stink on a monkey, but ever since he'd gotten out of Juvie, the half-back had realised something about himself.

Noah Puckerman was gay – or at least bisexual.

The jock was positive that he could still do a chick if the occasion called for it _and_ make her beg for mercy before the end – but for now the interest in doing so was gone – completely and utterly gone.

_'Poof...'_, Puck chuckled again in amusement at his own wit.

"Puck? Everything OK?"

The jock looked up to see Mr Schue and the assembled gleeks looking at him in concern – all except for the one gleek he wanted to look at him.

_'Damn you Hummel...'_

"Just peachy, Mr Schue...", said Puck crossing his arms over his chest and huffing.

"OK then – as I was saying..."

Puck ignored the teacher again as the man nodded and went back to addressing the group about whatever project he had lined up for them for that week.

* * *

Puck supposed that if he were to try to pinpoint the exact moment he'd realised he was attracted to dudes was back in Juvie. As his probation officer had promised, some time in Juvie had indeed changed him – just probably _not_ in the way 'Chairman Mao in a pants-suit' had expected.

_'Stupid probation officer with her stupid rules... no way am I picking up trash...'_

It had all started when he'd been forced to room with this small kid called Shaun. Juvie had turned out not to be a nice place – _at all_. As badass as Puck might have imagined himself while at McKinley, there were much bigger, and much badder fish out in the sea – and he was small-fry in comparison.

Shaun was the smallest of the small at Juvie – barely 17 years old but resembling more a 14 year old – short and skinny, like holocaust skinny, with a mop of badly styled brown hair and sunken blue eyes.

The larger kids – the gang-bangers especially – all targeted Shaun knowing that he'd be the weakest and least likely to fight back. They pushed him around, called him names like 'Faggot' and 'Pussy' and through it all, the smaller boy never reacted with anger. Puck had watched, as day after day, Shaun had silently taken the abuse levied out to him and then picked himself up, dusted himself off and carried on.

The same gang-bangers had targeted Puck too of course – stealing his waffles from him each day. The only difference between Puck and Shaun was that by virtue of his additional muscle mass, Puck was able to withstand the physical attacks much easier.

About three weeks into his stay at the centre, just after lights out, Puck had decided to ask Shaun the question that had been eating at him ever since he'd first arrived.

* * *

"Dude – you awake?"

Puck kept his voice low so as not to be overheard – the wardens that patrolled the corridor off which were each of the two-berth rooms – were real sticklers for lights out meaning lips shut.

"No...", came the voice from the lower bunk.

Puck paused in confusion for a second before he realised that he was being played.

"Bullshit – how'd you know to reply then?"

Puck could hear Shaun cursing under his breath before he replied,

"Alright – yes, I'm awake – what do you want?"

Although Puck had not said boo to the boy in his time at the centre, he wasn't about to be sassed by the smaller boy.

"Watch your tongue junior or I'll have to break it."

Puck heard the smaller boy snort before he responded in a harsh whisper.

"You can't break a tongue you moron."

Puck chuckled as he realised that Shaun _did_ have some backbone to him after all.

"You sound just like Hummel."

"Who's Hummel? Your boyfriend?"

Puck snorted into the darkness and rolled over so he could hang his head over the side of the bunk – not that it did any good as in the complete pitch black of the room it wasn't as if he could see the smaller boy.

"You've got a big mouth...", Puck growled putting on his best intimidating tone of voice.

"All the better for sucking the big cock..."

Though it was dark and nobody could see him, Puck allowed his jaw to drop open in shock – that was not the response he'd been expecting.

"What? No witty comeback? No threat to beat the crap out of me?", in the dark Shaun's confidence was obviously higher, as he allowed a little anger and resentment to seep into his tone.

Puck shook himself out of his shock as he stammered,

"Y-you're gay?"

Puck didn't need to be able to see in the dark to know that if Shaun was truly anything like Hummel, that he'd be rolling his eyes at that moment.

"Y-yes..."

The half-back decided to cut the kid a break and not break his face for his sarcastic tone of voice – much the same way he cut Hummel a break on occasion by stepping in and warning off some of the more _aggressive_ jocks back at McKinley.

Besides what exactly could Puck say other than 'oh'.

So he did.

"Oh."

Puck could hear shuffling coming from the lower bunk and figured that Shaun was moving himself into a defensive posture expecting that Puck was going to attack him or something.

"Relax kid, I don't care if you're black, white, yellow or green and if you like boys, girls or animals."

The jock heard the snort of amusement from the boy on the lower bunk and smirked to himself.

"Yeah, like I believe that – you're a jock – you're pre-programmed to despise everything about me."

Puck felt a swelling of indignation at the presumption that he was lying – if there was one thing Noah Puckerman never did it was lie – his Momma had brought him up right.

"Not true – one of my friends is -", Puck paused trying to find the right word to describe Hummel.

"Gay? A homo? A faggot? A shirt-lifter? A pansy? A fairy?"

"Alright can it – that's enough. Yeah, he's gay."

"Yeah right...", Puck could hear the clear disbelief in Shaun's tone of voice, "... what's this imaginary friend's name then?"

Puck imagined that Shaun was trying to catch him out in his lie so he could lord it over him. No way was Puckzilla going to be humbled by some scrawny little kid with a big mouth.

"Kurt. His name is Kurt – and he's not really my friend – at least not in the usual sense."

"Not in the _usual_ sense? What kind of bullshit response is that?"

Puck growled in warning as he thought about his reply. His initial question had resulted in a weird conversation that the jock had never intended to have. But now that he had started, something within him wanted to finish.

"Kurt and I have a sort of _unique_ relationship...", Puck grimaced as he realised the next admission he'd need to make in order to explain, "... I picked on him for being different for a long time."

"I knew it!", crowed Shaun in triumph before his voice cut off as he obviously worked out what that would mean for him.

"That was before!...", insisted the jock not caring that he was now talking at full volume and not noticing that he was talking with a passion he usually only reserved for football and Nintendo. "... Now we're sort of – well _half_-friends – we're both in Glee club together. Things are different. Better."

"Glee club?"

"Y'know – singing?"

Puck heard the snort before high-pitched giggling came from the boy on the lower bunk.

"You? Sing? In what? A boy-band?"

Puck peeled a sock off of his foot and balled it up in the darkness – using the position of Shaun's voice, Puck leant over the edge of the bunk and launched the projectile. The jock smirked and sat back, when a startled yelp sounded from the lower bunk.

"What the _fuck_?"

"Watch your mouth kid...", this time Puck's threat seemed to sink in as there was no smart-ass comeback.

"Yes I sing – I happen to have a badass singing voice _and_ I play guitar too."

There were several seconds of silence before Shaun's voice spoke once again – and Puck noticed that the tone had changed somewhat from sarcastic and flippant to curious and hesitant.

"Does he?... Does Kurt have a boyfriend?"

"Not that I know of – would probably make him less of a prissy bitch if he did though."

Puck snorted at his own humour while Shaun remained quiet.

"Don't get any ideas though scruffy...", Puck called out into the dark, "... if Kurt is going to have a Juvie badass for a boyfriend, it'll be me – so don't even think about applying for the position."

Puck snapped his jaw shut so fast his teeth rattled.

_'What the fuck did I just say?'_

Judging from the spluttering coming from the bottom bunk – Shaun was having some kind of epileptic fit.

_'Good... maybe if he falls into a coma he'll forget everything I just said...'_

It was a forlorn hope which was dashed just a second after it had crossed Puck's mind.

"You... you want to date this Kurt?"

"What? _No!_", insisted the jock, though even to him his voice sounded unnatural enough that he didn't believe himself.

"Yeah right – well I'm going to sleep now – have fun swimming in 'De Nile'..."

Puck didn't respond as he heard the rustling of the smaller boy as he got himself comfortable and went to sleep. The half-back remained awake for several hours after Shaun had started to snore softly from his bunk just turning things over in his mind.

_'Do I want to date Hummel? Why did I say that then? Am I attracted to dudes? Is it just him? What the fuck is wrong with me?'_

The thought didn't disgust Puck – at least not all that much – the thought of another dude's cock in his hand or mouth did gross the jock out a bit if he was honest.

But not enough to dissipate the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Dawn broke the next morning with Puck still lying in the same position deep in thought. The night had turned into day while the jock had tried to come to terms with the unintentional bombshell he'd dropped on both Shaun and more importantly – on _himself_.

* * *

"... and Puck..."

Puck zoned back in from his daydream to see Mr Schue standing with the Hat of Fate and a slip of paper in his hand, which the jock figured must have his name on it.

"Uh – what?", mumbled the jock having no clue what was going on.

Santana leaned over the back of the seat behind Puck and whispered to him, while at the same time not missing the opportunity to run her tongue around the shell of his ear,

"You're working with Artie on a duet... the song has to be about something personal to the both of you."

Trying to ignore the creepy crawly feeling of insects on his skin, Puck smiled broadly.

"Oh... that's cool then."

Glancing over at the wheelchair bound boy, Puck flashed Artie a grin and a thumbs up which the other boy returned albeit reluctantly and with a look of confusion on his face.

"So... my parents are out of town this weekend..."

The subtext was hardly subtle – though with Santana and sex – subtle wasn't a consideration. Puck however just wasn't in the mood for the Latina's hormone driven booty call.

"Hey Artie...", Puck made sure his voice was loud enough to carry across the entire group, "... you free to work on Glee this weekend?"

"Uh... sure...", said Artie with a look of patent disbelief and no small amount of apprehension on his face.

"Cool."

Puck ignored the angry growl from the Latina as she got up and stalked from the room.

_'Fuck her... or not as it happened...'_

* * *

**A/N: This fic was part inspired by the most recent episode of Glee and by The Colbert Report of the same night. Don't ask – my mind works in strange ways – it would have to in order to link the two together in my mind and make me think 'hey there's a slash fic in there somewhere'.**

**If you haven't worked it out yet for yourself the two pairings that I'm going to be working towards in this story are Artie/Tina and Kurt/Puck – I say working towards as I don't know for definite at this point which pairing, if any will actually succeed. **

**If my outline is anything to go by, there will be one chapter after this in order to bring things to a conclusion. As you all know however, I tend to say that and then write a couple hundred thousand words. I promise this will not grow arms and legs. If it does, I shall curl up into a ball and most likely cry! ;D**

**I'm not sure how quickly I'll get to completing it but I do promise to get there as promptly as I can.**

**PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE REVIEW.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own rights to any of the characters from Glee. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. **

**A/N: I've been splitting my time recently between three different projects and it's stretching me kinda thin. So the plan now is – concentrate on one of my smaller projects and get it to a conclusion quicker so I can score it off my to-do list. Of course finishing one of my smaller projects will mean taking it from 5,000 words to probably 25 to 30,000 words so it's no mean feat! XD**

**So here it is – I give you the next instalment of my Artie/Puck friendship fic. I had originally intended for this entire story to be two chapters – tops – and then I'd kill it off. Yeah well – best laid plans and all that shit! LOL**

**And before I get the inevitable comment – I know Marc – I know! Rod for my own back etc. Three Chapters and it'll be done. Maybe four. Unless fate hates me. XD**

"**F&ck You!" by The Jellybaby Bandit.**

**Chapter Two**

*****WARNING SERIES TWO SPOILERS IN THIS STORY*****

* * *

It was Saturday morning when Artie woke and stretched before getting himself ready for another day. At least on Saturday's there was no school – the morning was free from rushing about and desperately trying to get ready – not that Artie ever had to rush around getting ready .

Artie Abrams prided himself on his preparation – it was just something he'd come to focus on as a matter of course – after all, it wasn't as if he could just nip up from his chair and go back and get something if he'd forgotten it.

And so he prepared. Meticulously.

Today he had to prepare for Puck's arrival and try to work out exactly what they had in common which they could both sing about. Artie had a feeling that was going to prove to be tricky.

The way Mr Schue had described their task, he wanted different people within Glee club to start to collaborate together. Artie had no problem with that at all – at least not quite as much as say Quinn had letting Sam work with Santana – boy there was a cat-fight just waiting to happen.

Artie only hoped that when it did finally go down, that _someone_ was there with a paddling pool filled with chocolate sauce.

Hey – a guy could dream right?

As he dragged a comb through his hair, Artie heard the telltale click of his clock radio and realised that he'd not switched it off. It didn't matter though as Artie didn't mind music in the morning – it was an adventure each time to see what would be playing.

"_**DJ:** This is KACL 780 – all music, all morning – coming up soon some classic Barenaked Ladies but first, let's get a little Vampiric in this house - shall we?"_

Artie smiled hearing the distinctive intro – despite years of not being able to – each time that he heard a song he liked, the urge was still there to want to tap his foot to the beat. Lima, Ohio might not have been the most hip place in the world to live – but it did have some of the best radio stations, or at least Artie liked to think so.

"_I wake up  
My shoulder's cold  
I've got to leave here  
Before I go  
I pull my shirt on  
Walk out the door  
Drag my feet along the floor  
I pull my shirt on  
Walk out the door  
Drag my feet along the floor..."_

Artie wheeled himself across his room to the door to his walk in closet and pushed the assistance button his parents had fitted all those years before. The bespectacled boy drummed his fingers against the wheel with his right hand as he sang along with the radio,

"_Then I see you  
You're walking cross the campus  
Cruel professor  
Studying romances_

_How am I supposed to pretend  
I never want to see you again?  
How am I supposed to pretend  
I never want to see you again?..."_

Artie opened one of the cabinets which had been specially converted to be the right height for him when in his chair and pulled out a pair of suspenders which he clipped into place before rolling back out again, the door closing automatically behind him with a soft hiss.

_"Walk to class  
In front of ya  
Spilled kefir  
On your keffiyah  
You look inside  
And turn to the door  
Drag your feet along the floor..."_

Artie checked the clock on the wall and saw that it was about the time that Puck said he'd be there – well not actually – Puck had said something about Artie being around now but that he'd be there, when he got there.

_"Then I see you  
You're walking cross the campus  
Cruel professor  
Studying romances_

_How am I supposed to pretend  
I never want to see you again?  
How am I supposed to pretend  
I never want to see you again?..."_

At least Puck had narrowed it down a little to agreeing to work on Glee during the day and Artie was fairly confident that the jock would keep his word. He certainly hoped so as the jock had mentioned something about not being free at night because he'd be tapping a Cougar or something and that was something Artie just did not want to think about.

_"In the afternoon  
You're out on the stone and grass  
And I'm sleeping on the balcony  
After class_

_In the afternoon  
You're out on the stone and grass  
And I'm sleeping on the balcony  
After class_

_In the afternoon  
You're out on the stone and grass  
And I'm sleeping on the balcony  
After class_

_In the afternoon  
You're out on the stone and grass  
And I'm sleeping on the balcony  
After class..."_

At the exact moment that Artie rolled to a stop by the clock radio and hit the off switch he heard the unmistakeable sound of someone rapping heavily on the front door.

Artie wheeled himself into position to receive his guest, knowing that his Mom would send Puck straight through back to see him.

* * *

"Hey Puck...", greeted Artie with a smile, "... you found us OK then?"

Puck looked at weekends – well, exactly like he did during the week at school – dressed in his usual attire of a washed out pair of jeans and classic rock tee, paired with an old beat up pair of All-Stars.

Puck nodded in greeting to the bespectacled boy as he set set the guitar case in his hands down by the door.

"Uh... yeah...", the jock glanced over his shoulder in apparent thought, "... say you wouldn't have a pool that needs cleaning would you?"

Artie furrowed his brow in confusion before gesturing to his legs.

"Not really no..."

Artie would have sworn that the expression on Puck's face was regret as he shrugged his shoulders,

"Ah well – guess not."

Artie cleared his throat before he wheeled over to his desk. Picking up a sheaf of paper, he turned to speak to the half-back,

"I uh – I was going to do some searching for a song for us last night – but I realised that Mr Schue wanted us to do something with meaning to both of us."

Puck nodded and unsnapped the clasps on his guitar case before lifting the instrument out.

"I remember dude – whatever we choose though it better be a badass tune..."

Artie snorted as he shook his head at the jock – the few weeks Puck hadn't been around, while markedly less dangerous to the wheelchair-bound boy's health – hadn't been half as amusing.

"Fo' shizzle my nizzle...", reassured Artie with a smile.

"Word of advice?"

Artie raised a curious eyebrow at the jock – who'd have ever thought he'd be accepting advice from Puck?

"Lose the Snoop-Doggy-Douche shit...", said Puck with a serious look on his face, "... you're like the Martha Stewart of gangsta..."

Puck set his guitar down on the large bed and perched himself on the edge as he waited for Artie seemingly to make a decision on how to get things moving. Artie however was still reeling from Puck's sudden attack on his gangsta skills.

"Alright – well – ignoring your ignorance of my _fly _gangsta skills...", Puck snorted as he shucked off his shoes and pushed himself back on the bed to lean against the headboard ignoring the raised eyebrow from the wheelchair-bound boy, "... I figure what Mr Schue wanted out of this whole duet exercise was for us to all start getting to know each other. Other people we don't usually collaborate with that is."

Artie looked at Puck to make sure the jock was following his train of thought – after all it'd be a long day, if Artie left Puck behind at any point.

"Sounds fair enough. So what? We play twenty questions til we know each other or should we rent a copy of Beaches and bond?"

Artie paused to considered the proposal – the first proposal that was – no way was he going to watch Beaches with Puck, he'd rather hack off his legs with a rusty penknife.

Not that he'd feel it of course but it was the sentiment that counted.

Actually Artie admitted, playing twenty questions _would_ be an easy way to get to know the jock – and once they found some common ground they could then try to choose a song. Of course, there would have to be ground rules though – Artie wasn't a complete idiot.

Artie wheeled himself to the door to his room and swung it shut with a thump. Seeing the raised eyebrow from the half-back, he clarified,

"If I'm going to be spilling my deepest darkest, then the last person I want hearing is my Mom."

Puck smirked as he replied,

"What? Don't want Mommy dearest knowing how often you jack off or somethin'?"

Artie blushed – he had never been good with the whole sexual teasing thing – as Puck chuckled at his discomfort.

"You do jack off don't you?", asked Puck with a horrified look on his face, "... everything works right?"

Artie couldn't believe he was having this conversation – in fact that wasn't true – he could believe it, he just didn't want to.

"Of course I do! And yes everything works!"

Artie's indignant expression sank into one of mortification as Puck smirked at him – having gotten the wheelchair-bound boy to lose his composure as he'd clearly intended from the outset.

_'Damn you Puck...'_

Returning to the matter at hand, Artie tried to change topic away from his own masturbatory habits and back onto the half-back.

"Do _you_ want my Mom knowing how many chicks you've screwed?"

Puck smirked and scratched at his chin thoughtfully – as if evaluating Artie's Mom for hotness – the thought both concerned Artie and made him feel a little nauseous,

"Maybe..."

Artie wrinkled his nose in disgust – of course he'd goaded Puck so he had nobody to blame for the horrible images now in his mind but himself.

"I'm so going to need therapy after this..."

Puck chuckled again and stretched out on the bed with his hands behind his head,

"Chill dude – so who goes first Professor?"

* * *

A knock at the door prevented Artie's reply before his Mom appeared bearing a tray with -

_'Oh for God's...'_

"I thought you and your friend might like some lemonade and cookies hon'..."

Artie got over his initial embarrassment in short order as he snorted at Puck whose eyes had lit up at the mention of the cookies.

"Here let me get that for you Mrs Abrams..."

The jock shuffled off the end of the bed and crossed to help his Mom set the tray on the desk.

Artie watched on in silent horror as the jock proceeded to check out his Mom in the most _obvious_ of ways – obvious to him anyway – thankfully for Artie's own sanity, his Mom remained oblivious to the half-back's lecherous ogling.

* * *

Artie Abrams was no fool though.

Intellectually, the wheelchair-bound boy understood that at 34 years old, his Mom was still in the prime of her life and that she had always been a very good looking woman. Though she continued to call herself 'Mrs Abrams', Valerie Abrams had not actually been married to Artie's Dad in almost five years.

After the car accident in which Artie had lost the use of his legs and ended up in his chair, things hadn't gone so great between his Mom and Dad. The bespectacled boy could remember so clearly, the nights spent lying in his bed and straining his ears while listening to the hushed angry voices in the next room.

It had been in Artie's nature to blame himself for the breakdown of his Mom and Dad's marriage. Just like it was in Artie's nature to blame himself for his condition. Of course, neither issue had in fact been Artie's fault – he had just ended up being the catalyst that threw into relief so many other incompatibilities between his parents. In the end, having all their differences brought into the harsh light of day was what pushed them apart.

_'Thank you Nana for teaching me that it wasn't my fault...'_

Greg Abrams had been a varsity football player – a man-mountain standing 6'4'', so strong that Artie was convinced he could have lifted their house. Of course that was just a childish recollection of the man Artie had known and idolised.

In reality, Greg Abrams was a insurance adjuster who just couldn't handle the thought of having a son that would never walk, never mind play football as he had.

Artie's Mom and Dad had fought _hard_ to keep their marriage together – but it just wasn't to be. It was on Artie's tenth birthday, some 18 months after the accident, that his Dad had left his Mom. His Mom had organised a surprise party for him in his backyard with a clown and a bouncy castle and cake and ice cream – everything that a ten year old boy could possibly want.

It should have been one of Artie's happiest memories.

Sadly though, Artie's prevailing memory of his birthday party was of his Dad's arrival midway through Koko the Clown's performance. His Dad had been steaming drunk, having been out drinking from leaving work the prior day and had proceeded to get into it with his Mom, right there in the middle of the lawn.

When the Clown had tried to intervene and calm things down as his Dad had been spewing some truly terrible things, his Dad had laid poor Koko out with a single uppercut to the chin, leaving the man lying prone on the steps to the inflatable castle.

Balloon animals never really did have the same ability to make Artie smile after that day.

His Dad had moved out of their house the next day and within a couple weeks it seemed – at least to Artie's ten year old recollection - had filed for divorce. His Mom got to keep the house and his Dad had never missed an alimony payment in the years since. And as an added bonus, Artie now got to travel three hours to Cincinnati every second weekend in order to see the man and his 'new' family – his Dad having remarried a couple years back.

It was all screwed up to Hell but that's life.

* * *

Shaking himself out of his revelry, Artie focused again on his Mom. Valerie worked part-time as a Pilates instructor at the Country Club Spa and with her long blonde hair which was usually tied back in some kind of bun and her thin, 5'7'' frame, Val Abrams was still regularly the envy of girls half his Mom's age.

That didn't mean of course, that she was free to be ogled by just anyone.

* * *

"Why thank you – Puck was it? And please – call me Val."

"Val – short for Valerie?...", the woman smiled warmly at the jock and nodded.

"Yes that's right? Is Puck short for something? Or do you just like Hockey?"

"Noah Puckerman, but everyone on the football team always calls me Puck."

The jock flexed his guns a little as Artie watched on in growing disquiet as his Mom seemed to be seriously flirting with Puck.

_'Oh this is just sick...'_

"Oh, you play football? Y'know Artie's Dad used to play too?"

Artie was going to be sick – there was no doubt about it – he could feel the urge to start hurling in Linda Blair-esque fashion all over his bedroom. And that would be a terrible thing, as he was sure he would never get the green out of his carpet.

_'Puck is hitting on my Mom... ewwww...'_

"Well Mom...", Artie hurriedly cut in and distracting the pair who had seemingly forgotten he was even there, "... we have a lot of work to do so..."

The woman seemed to collect herself as she glanced between her son and the boy the same age as her son, standing next to her before she cleared her throat and looked slightly abashed.

"Yes – well... you boys holler if you need anything..."

Artie aimed a glare at Puck behind his Mom's back as he correctly predicted the jock was about to open his mouth and say something laced with innuendo.

"We will...", promised Artie as he escorted his Mom to the door, "... and thanks for the cookies."

The woman nodded before disappearing off down the corridor leading back to the kitchen. Artie meanwhile closed the door over and with a long suffering sigh turned to face the smirking jock.

"What?", asked Puck – a cookie lodged in his mouth sideways leaving him looking like a that kid from iCarly with the huge mouth.

_'I suppose that kid looks like a bit like Sam Evans ... if you squint...'_

"You're a dick."

Puck snorted cookie crumbs all over the carpet before he started coughing loudly. Artie wheeled himself over to the desk and poured a glass of lemonade from the pitcher before offering it to the wheezing and red-faced jock.

"Thanks...", said Puck accepting the proffered glass and draining it dry.

Artie rolled his eyes at the jock before taking another swipe at him – verbally if not physically – for daring to flirt with his Mom.

"What the Hell was that about anyway? I thought you were supposed to be gay or something!"

* * *

Artie realised quickly that he'd made a mistake. The friendly, teasing light that had been in Puck's eyes died a death as the jock set the glass down on the table and stalked away from Artie to go stare out of the window.

"Uh – Puck? Look I'm sorry, I know I -..."

"Shove it Abrams..."

Puck's tone was cold but held none of the fire or anger that Artie was expecting to hear. The jock was careful it seemed to keep his back fixed to Artie, so the wheelchair-bound boy had no way of telling what expression was on Puck's face.

"You were being serious about that then?"

Puck's shoulders seemed to slump a little as the jock turned to face Artie. The strain was clear to see on the half-back's face as he aimed a glare at the contrite Artie. It was something Artie had never before considered – that Puck could have problems of his own and stuff to deal with just like everybody else.

_'He's a human being too...'_

"You really think I'd joke about that shit?"

Artie felt terrible for having said something to get back at the jock that had clearly had a more profound effect that he had intended.

"I – I guess not...", admitted Artie as he gestured to the bed and Puck shuffled over to take up his previous position with the minor change that he drew his knees up protectively to his chest.

"I guess you'll want to count that as Question 1 huh?"

Artie was surprised to hear a note of bitterness in Puck's voice and it took him a second to work out the reason behind it.

Puck expected him to use the information against him. To turn the tables on his erstwhile bully and get some revenge on the boy that had tossed him out of his wheelchair on more occasions than he could count.

"I won't tell anyone if that's what you're worried about."

Artie snorted as Puck raised a single challenging eyebrow in patent disbelief.

"Sure you won't. I just gave you the scoop of the century and you won't tell a soul."

Artie shook his head as he picked up a cookie from the platter and bit into it – his Mom's cookies really were the best. As he chewed Artie had a thought – not one he particularly liked – but one that might help convince Puck of his sincerity.

_'Quid Pro Quo...'_

Artie swallowed his bite of cookie before taking a deep breath and biting the bullet.

"One time I let my math tutor suck me off."

Puck smirked before the smirk died once again and he waived off the attempt to share embarrassing secrets.

"Nice try Abrams – but some chick giving you head doesn't come close to equalling 'Puck likes dick'..."

Artie swallowed around the lump of cookie which had gotten lodged in his throat. He had half-expected Puck's response but had hoped that the jock wouldn't press him to make a further admission.

_'Shit...'_

Oh well – he'd come this far – and the assignment _was_ to get to know each other better.

"Jeremy is a strange name for a chick don't you think?"

* * *

Puck's breath caught in his throat. Had Artie just come out and said what he thought he had said?

"Holy shit!"

The jock stared at Artie in shock as the bespectacled boy ducked his head and refused to meet Puck's eyes which were wide with incredulity. Puck continued to turn the admission over in his mind - Artie Abrams let his _male_ math tutor give him head – and he'd just admitted it to him. To him. To Puck.

"Holy shit!", Puck repeated – his brain stuck in a loop.

The wheelchair-bound boy's tone of voice was slightly bitter as he replied,

"You said that already."

Puck shook himself free of his initial shock as he took in the slumped shoulders and embarrassed air around Artie.

_'He did it to even the score...'_

Puck's posture straightened at the realisation and he considered the new information.

"What the Hell dude?"

It was all Puck could think to say – Artie's admission was a shock yes – but it needed an explanation. Some kind of reasoning to explain exactly how and why it had happened.

If they were truly going to be playing twenty questions to get to know each other then this would be as good a place to start as any.

"That your Question One?", asked Artie with chagrin.

"Who says we have to count?", asked Puck, "... let's just talk – no holds barred – what do you say?"

Artie lifted his eyes to meet Puck's gaze – the jock could see the fear mingled in with the embarrassment and felt a gratitude towards the wheelchair-bound boy for offering to make himself as vulnerable as Puck had been.

It was a classy thing to do. And brave.

Damn brave.

* * *

"Brass... or maybe granite...", mumbled the jock with a rueful smile.

Artie's expression was one of confusion as he found he had to ask,

"Huh?

"You're balls Abrams..."

Artie couldn't help it – despite his embarrassment at his admission – he chuckled at the jock as Puck smirked.

Several seconds of silence passed between the pair as they tried to re-evaluate exactly where they stood with each other.

Both boys had ended up revealing very personal secrets to the other – secrets that neither had ever thought would end up seeing the light of day.

It was Puck however that broke the silence with a clearing throat,

"Uh – I'll go first if you want."

Artie shrugged, which Puck assumed to be assent to the suggestion.

"You uh – know I was in Juvie obviously. Well there was this kid there, scrawny little cocksucker...", Puck grimaced at his slip of the tongue and noted that Artie hadn't missed the slip either, "... sorry guess I shouldn't use that word anymore huh? There was this scrawny little kid called Shaun."

Artie nodded thoughtfully before he posed a question of the jock,

"So you and this Shaun?"

Puck screwed up his face like someone had just force-fed him a lemon and shook his head vehemently,

"Fuck no! I hated the little shit – always mouthing off at me and calling me a moron."

Artie tried to stifle the grin that wanted to break out on his face and was largely successful – all apart from the telltale twitch of his upper lip.

"OK so – what then?"

Puck sighed and dropped his gaze from the wall above Artie's head to the bedspread and noticed for the first time the subject matter on the duvet cover.

"Dude – what the fuck?"

Artie blushed and looked supremely embarrassed as he tried to defend his bedspread,

"It's the periodic table!...", Puck snorted in amusement, "... I had some trouble remembering it alright!"

"So you thought - 'I know, I'll stitch it into my bed so I never forget' – what the Hell is on your pyjamas, your school timetable?"

Puck's eyes widened noticeably as Artie didn't immediately respond but instead his eyes darted for a second to beneath the pillow the jock was leaning against.

"Oh... this is too good...", crowed Puck now thoroughly enjoying their get to know you exercise, "... they're under your pillow aren't they?"

Artie groaned and ran his hand over his face in agitation as Puck shuffled around and lifted the pillow before starting to chuckle loud and long.

"You gotta be shitting me...", Puck glanced over his shoulder at the mortified figure of Artie as he grinned, "... Spider Man?"

"My normal ones are in the laundry alright?"

Puck replaced the pillow and got himself comfortable again whilst Artie continued to sputter.

"Sure Abrams – or should I say – Spidey!"

"Oh God...", groaned Artie – this experiment had gone horribly, horribly wrong, "... can we please get back on track?"

* * *

Puck continued to grin at the wheelchair-bound boy as he gestured for Artie to ask his next question,

"Sure thing – shoot."

"So you and Shaun never? If not then how?"

Puck wrinkled his nose in disgust and shook his head before sighing. It felt strangely nice to have someone that Puck could talk to about all this shit – ever since getting out of Juvie there hadn't been anyone that the jock could open up to.

_'Never thought it'd end up being Artie Abrams though...'_

"Shaun just – the little bastard made me think...", said Puck with a wry smile, "... like, lie awake all night just thinking think. And I realised that there was a chance – just a small chance – that I might be attracted to another dude."

Artie had remained quiet while Puck had spoken which the jock appreciated more than he'd admit. Not having the bespectacled boy throwing out question after question meant that the jock could admit to things on his own terms and at his own pace.

"So this other dude? He have a name?"

Puck's stomach twisted in a knot – of course he'd known that he would never be able to have the conversation he was having without having to admit to the subject of his sudden lusting – but what would Artie think of him? He'd treated the boy so badly over the years after all.

"Uh yeah...", Puck ran his hand through his newly reacquired mohawk in agitation, "... he does."

Artie waited patiently for several seconds before it became clear that Puck needed a final nudge,

"Well?"

The jock sighed before quietly muttering almost so softly that Artie couldn't hear him.

Almost but not quite.

"Kurt."

* * *

"Kurt? As in Kurt? Kurt Hummel? That Kurt? Our Kurt? _The _Kurt?"

Puck rolled his eyes as Artie continued to hyperventilate and refused to answer such a stupid serious of obvious questions. How many other Kurt's did both of them know after all? It wasn't like it was that common a name in Western Ohio.

"Oh wow – this – this is _big_ Puck!"

The jock grimaced as he nodded – Puck had gone over it in his mind for damn near two weeks now – he knew very well exactly how big a deal it was.

Noah Puckerman was hot for Kurt Hummel. Stop the presses. Cancel the Superbowl. The world was going to end.

"Yeah..."

Artie seemed to be getting carried away on a wave of euphoria – a euphoria that Puck knew would lead to nowhere – he'd already struck out with Kurt already after all.

"So are you going to tell him? Is it just Kurt or do you think you like other guys too?"

Puck's shoulders slumped and he rubbed tiredly at his eyes – 11am and he was already exhausted.

_'Stupid Mr Schue and his Glee assignments... get to know each other... it'll be fun... yeah right!'_

"No and No. It's just Kurt."

Artie's voice was laced with disbelief as he replied,

"No? Why not? I thought - "

Puck looked Artie in the eye and the wheelchair-bound boy instinctively knew that there was more to the story as his voice trailed off and the jock spoke.

"Because I already did!"

* * *

Artie didn't know what to say as he took in the slumped shoulders and look of defeat on Puck's face. What had started out as a Glee assignment seemed to have morphed into a weird confessional where each boy had offered up their biggest, baddest secrets to each other.

"Oh..."

Puck's wry grin was the only response to Artie's shocked response,

"Yeah..."

"I assume given your less than enthusiastic expression that it didn't go well?"

Artie watched as Puck snorted before chuckling – it wasn't an amused chuckle however, more tinged with regret if the wheelchair-bound boy had to put a name to it.

"You could say that – he called me a mouth breathing Cro-Magnon with all the appeal of a weekend break at the Bates Motel and told me to leave him the Hell alone."

Artie winced at the biting response the jock had received from Kurt. It wasn't completely unexpected though – Puck had systematically terrorised a number of kids during his life – and Kurt Hummel was one of the most picked upon.

It was only natural that Kurt would react with a certain degree of scepticism to Puck's sudden, inexplicable change of heart.

"I had to look up the Cro-Magnon bit...", admitted Puck softly, "... I suppose I can't really blame Kurt really."

Artie truly felt bad for Puck. Sure they'd had very little interaction in the past besides Puck being Puck and of course performing together in Glee – but the jock _was_ a human being with feelings – and it appeared as though Kurt had thoroughly trampled all over Puck's feelings.

_'He wasn't to know better though...'_

* * *

Deciding to change the subject and try to get Puck's mind away from the mire it was lodged in, Artie chose to fall on his own sword.

"OK. My turn."

Puck looked up and Artie could see the gratitude in the jock's eyes for his actions. Who knew – perhaps after this assignment was over he and Puck would end up friends?

_'Don't push it Abrams...'_, the wheelchair-bound boy reminded himself.

"Jeremy – your math tutor?"

Artie nodded slowly – he had never told a soul about his encounter with the older boy who had been tutoring him in advanced calculus – it felt strange to be talking about it now.

"Yeah. He was 17 and I was 15...", Artie's eyes glazed over as he drifted off into his memory, "... I – I'd never expected that I'd have a girlfriend – what with the chair and everything. But I'm still a guy and I have _urges_ just like everyone else."

Puck raised his hands in a defensive posture as he spoke,

"Not judging dude..."

Artie smiled slightly as he continued to relate his tale,

"Jeremy was gay, _is_ gay, I guess. I knew this – it was never a problem – he was good at Calculus which is what I needed help with. We – we used to joke around a little when we were working, I always think better when I'm relaxed y'know?"

Puck nodded in apparent understanding before motioning to Artie to throw him another cookie, which the bespectacled boy did without thought.

"I'd – I'd never been kissed. Never had a girl show _any_ interest in me. So when Jeremy did – I just, I guess I latched onto it. I know now I'm not gay or bi or anything like that. I was just – _lonely_."

Artie sighed and poured himself a glass of lemonade which he held in his hands and sipped from every once in a while.

"It only happened the once – I cancelled my tutoring sessions after that – Jeremy knew why though we never talked about it."

"Wow dude...", said Puck scratching his chin, "... that's wild."

* * *

Despite their reservations at the start of the exercise, both Artie and Puck found themselves relaxing into their conversation as the hours ticked by. Puck, Artie discovered was a far more intelligent guy than he had ever given him prior credit for – and they had indeed found several points of commonality in their likes and dislikes.

Their most recent discussion had been the breakdown of Artie's relationship with Tina and her subsequent taking up with Mike Chang.

"... sucks Dude... but fuck her, plenty more fish in the sea...", commiserated Puck.

"Sea's a lot shallower when you're in the chair...", sighed Artie.

Both boys had between them long since polished off the mountain of cookies and drained the pitcher of lemonade when the door to Artie's bedroom opened and Val popped her head around the jamb.

"Sorry to interrupt boys..."

Artie looked up and smiled at his Mom – he was actually grateful for the interruption as he was dying for a bathroom break and the discussion about Tina had been emotionally draining to say the least.

"That's alright Mom – what's up?"

Val looked a little uncomfortable as she glanced at Puck – who to his credit also looked a little chagrined. One of the topics of conversation that both he and Puck had covered that afternoon had been the difference between _admiring_ someone else's Mom and _hitting_ on someone else's Mom.

"I have to leave for my shift hon', will you and your friend be alright on your own?"

Artie ignored the mocking grin on Puck's face at the babying – it was a side effect of the fact he was in the wheelchair that his Mom sometimes forgot that Artie was as old as he was – in many ways she still saw the broken little eight-year old boy he had once been.

"Of course Mom – we'll be fine – have a nice shift."

The blonde looked unhappy to have to leave but nodded before smiling,

"There's money in the jar if you and your friend want to phone for pizza – I'll be home about eleven."

"Thanks Mom."

The door closed again softly, quickly followed a few seconds later by the sound of an engine in the drive which then disappeared into the distance.

"Sorry again dude – about the whole Mom thing...", mumbled Puck with genuine honesty.

The more Artie talked with Puck the more he came to understand the boy behind the bravado – he was perhaps just as confused and lost as the rest of the world – he just hid it behind a brash exterior was all.

"That's cool – as soon as you're gone I'll tell her your gay...", joked Artie earning himself a glare from the jock.

Artie checked the time on his cell and raised an eyebrow.

"It's four-thirty – you said you had something to do tonight?"

* * *

Puck shrugged – he had told Artie he was going to be tapping on of his Cougars that evening – the truth was however that he had zero interest in doing so.

_'Hummel has fucked me over...'_

Since coming out of Juvie and having had his revelation about Kurt, the jock had agonised over what he was going to do. It was a big step to take to admit that you were attracted to someone of the same sex.

A number of different but equally pertinent questions had arisen. What would happen if Kurt rejected him? What would happen if he said yes? Would he want the world to know? Could Puck tell the world? Did he want the world to know?

As it happened – none of the questions Puck had considered were the right question – there was one question the jock had overlooked.

What if Kurt already has someone?

Blaine. Fucking Blaine. What kind of a name was Blaine anyway? Fucking third rate magician's name is what! The jock wished he could stuff the Private School _dick_ into a glass box or encase him in ice for thinking he could take what was his!

Puck had been full of hope as he'd returned to McKinley. He'd thought things through – he'd take his time and execute his plan perfectly. Stage one was to get Kurt to let his guard down a bit – the brunette was always so tightly wound around him that it would be impossible to convince him he was being honest about his feelings otherwise.

So after he'd come back and reasserted himself – in his absence some of the jocks had gotten ideas above their station – Puck had set about his plan.

He wasn't going to change who he was obviously – he was still Puckzilla – but a more caring, gentle Puckzilla.

_'Jesus I sound like a detergent...'_

So Puck had decided that he would start small – it was the little things that Kurt would notice more than the grand gestures – he would also accept little changes easier than big ones.

* * *

Puck had arrived early for school for perhaps the first time in his entire life as he stood talking with Finn though his attention was fixed on the bank of lockers by the door to the Geography classroom.

_'Kurt's locker...'_

"So I flexed the guns and told them... if you think you can take me – make a move – otherwise I'm eating this pudding."

"Wow dude – Juvie sounds bad...", Finn's expression was a mix of concern for Puck's welfare and also awe from the storytelling, "... oh, I have class... you coming..."

"I was the baddest mother in there...", said Puck with a smirk, "... and are you kidding?"

Finn rolled his eyes before exchanging a fist bump with Puck and heading off down the hallway.

Puck's attention was distracted a moment later as a loud banging sound drew his attention across the hall.

_'What the?...'_

Puck growled as he saw Kurt sitting prone on the floor, his locker door swinging open above him. It was only once he'd stopped and actually looked that Puck had realised just how much shit Kurt was forced to put up with on a daily basis.

Usually Kurt was able to shrug off whatever baggage he was lumbered with and carry on. But ever since his Dad had ended up in the hospital – thankfully he'd gotten out whilst Puck was locked up – the strain of keeping his chin up seemed to be getting to him.

Puck could see the cracks appearing – and so it seemed could the bullies who had redoubled their efforts at seeing they were getting a response now.

"Kurt? You OK?"

Puck had missed the part where he'd crossed the hallway and offered his hand to the brunette. The jock's heart ached a little when Kurt looked at Puck's hand like it would bite him before scrambling to his feet under his own power.

"What do you care? Sorry you didn't get to me first?"

Puck didn't have an answer for the accusation – it wasn't like the jock could just say 'hey no, I sort of want to kiss you now so it's all cool'.

Life just wasn't like that – life wasn't a TV show – it wasn't fiction.

"Would you believe me if I said I was sorry?", asked Puck trying to lace his tone with sincerity.

Kurt paused and looked Puck in the eye, seemingly trying to weight up the jock's question.

"No. No it wouldn't."

Puck's face fell as the soprano dismissed his apology out of hand. The jock had known that getting Kurt to change his view of him would be difficult, but he didn't expect it to hurt quite so much.

"Let me prove it to you then."

Kurt's expression was a mix of confusion and anger,

"Prove it? Prove what? What the Hell is there to prove?"

"That I'm sorry."

Kurt sighed and Puck swore he could see the sheen of unshed tears in the brunette's eyes. The urge to reach out and offer comfort was something Puck was not expecting to feel and caught him a little off guard.

"Why should I care if you're sorry? Sorry won't change five years of persecution Puck. Just – just leave me alone. If you want to prove that you're sorry just – stay away."

* * *

That same pattern had repeated for several days – Kurt would get beat down on by one of the jocks, usually Karofsky who had taken a special dislike of the soprano – and Puck would stand by and watch. The urge was there of course to simply go take Karofsky and his Hockey stick and introduce one to the other as a form of suppository but it wasn't what Kurt wanted.

The brunette had been quite clear about things and if that was what Kurt wanted then Puck wasn't going to go against his wishes.

_'You should just tell him...'_

The thought had been niggling at Puck since the initial encounter with Kurt on his first day back. Kurt was obviously wary of the jock's intentions towards him – he had offered the soprano a helping hand and an apology for his prior behaviour without explanation as to _why_.

Maybe if Kurt knew the reason why Puck was different now he'd be more open to it.

_'Or he'd run screaming for the hills...'_

And so Puck had kept his distance and watched in concern as Kurt seemed to lose a little bit more fight each day.

Until he couldn't take it anymore.

Kurt had had a particularly rough morning, Karofsky had first pushed the soprano into a bank of lockers and had then followed it up a few minutes later with a slushie attack. Puck had no idea what it was about Kurt that riled up Karofsky so much – but the motivation behind the continued attacks was irrelevant – it was the effect they were having on Kurt that Puck wasn't prepared to accept anymore.

Kurt looked defeated – something that Puck had never before seen on the brunette's face. It appeared that he was giving up – and that fact had been confirmed for Puck when he'd heard that Kurt had gone on a reconnaissance trip to the Dalton Academy.

Enough – Puck decided – was enough.

* * *

Kurt was beat down.

There was no other way to describe the way he was feeling these days – the way he'd been feeling for too many days now.

Ever since he'd come out of the closet at McKinley there had obviously been the problems with homophobes – however the past couple of months, ever since his Dad had gone into the hospital – Kurt had begun to wilt under the pressure.

There was only so much persecution one person could take before they can take no more and Kurt was fast approaching his limit.

The brunette had spoken with Mr Schue about his situation – the Glee club mentor had actually been very understanding and had spoken with Principal Figgins on his behalf – and yet nothing had changed.

Each day came and each day so did the never ending torrent of abuse, from being pushed into lockers, to being punched in the kidneys, through slushie attacks and pee balloon raids in the parking lot it all came and went and never ended.

And each day nobody stepped in and made it stop a little part of Kurt died inside.

* * *

If there was one bright spot in everything, it was the lack of attention Kurt had been garnering from one of his most voracious tormentors – Puck.

Since coming back from Juvie – the half-back had been almost – _decent _towards the him. He'd even offered Kurt an apology for his prior actions – which Kurt had thrown back in his face. The brunette regretted his actions in hindsight, but in his defence he had just been thrown face first into his locker by Karofsky, so he was entitled to be a little angry.

Of course that didn't mean that he was entitled to take that anger out on Puck.

And yet he had.

Kurt had told Puck to stay away from him if he wanted to show that he was truly sorry. What had surprised Kurt was that Puck had done exactly that. It had been almost a week and a half and aside from a single interaction between them in Glee when Kurt had asked Puck to pass him the sheet music, Puck had kept his distance.

That wasn't to say Kurt wasn't aware of Puck's presence in his life though. One thing that being the target of school bullies drilled into you was the mantra of always keeping yourself aware of your surroundings.

And so that was why Kurt was instantly aware that Puck was watching him, but not interfering. It was almost _comforting_ in a way – even though a part of Kurt wanted to scream at the jock for not stepping in and helping him.

But then Puck was only doing what Kurt had asked of him.

When Mr Schue had read out the list of competition for Sectionals, Kurt had been intrigued by the sound of Dalton Academy. And so, skipping his afternoon Chem class, Kurt had made the journey out to the Academy and had engaged in some not so subtle espionage.

What he'd found there had been more than he had ever imagined.

He'd found tolerance.

He'd found acceptance.

He'd found Blaine.

* * *

Blaine was unlike any other boy that Kurt had ever met – the one obvious difference being that he was openly gay – but aside from that Blaine was confident in his skin.

The ease with which he talked about things that Kurt himself had only dreamed of experiencing, a nurturing, challenging environment to learn in. A zero-tolerance policy towards bullying of any kind – those were the kinds of luxuries that Kurt, being in the public school system had been denied for so long.

Kurt had no illusions from the beginning about his friendship with Blaine and was well aware of the fact that from the outset, the other boy had designs on him romantically. But whilst that was certainly one facet of their emerging relationship, Blaine had also been there for Kurt to serve as a guide and as a mentor.

It was that side of their friendship that Kurt had come to rely on more, with their mutual romantic interest in each other being merely an extra benefit.

The pressure at McKinley was getting to be too great for Kurt and so he'd made a drastic decision to speak with his Dad. His Dad's eyes had filled with tears as Kurt had relayed his reasons for wanting to transfer and also at how happy his son was to have found someone like him that understood what he was going through. The tuition for Dalton Academy was steep of course, but they had worked out that if Kurt used the money in his College fund now, that they would be able to afford it.

Kurt felt it was worth every cent.

Having worked everything with the older man, the pair had journeyed up to the Academy and had filled in the required enrolment forms.

In just seven days time, Kurt Hummel would join The Dalton Academy.

* * *

Puck had decided that he'd pull Kurt aside after the Glee club meeting that afternoon and tell him everything. The jock would give Kurt the whole unvarnished truth and let him decide what he did or did not want to do with the information.

The jock could only pray that the choice Kurt made would be one he could live with.

Puck had arrived early for Glee – his nerves had gotten the better of him and he just couldn't sit in the lunch room and pretend that he wasn't the most nervous he'd ever been in his entire life.

So as each member of the Glee club trickled in in the minutes following the bell signalling the end of lunch, Puck was there to witness their entrance. He ignored the curious looks he got from the other gleeks for his unusually prompt appearance.

The one person Puck wanted to see however did not show. Not right away at least.

Mr Schue had just finished giving a twenty minute lecture about unity or something else equally as boring before bringing the class to a close – Puck had long since tuned him out so had no real idea what was being said – it was usually something along those lines though.

The door to the Choir Room had opened and Puck's breath had hitched as his eyes met Kurt's – Kurt looked _happy_.

As everyone had packed up their bags and left, Puck noted that Kurt had remained behind and was talking softly with Mr Schue by the piano.

Puck was a little confused when Mr Schue's face suddenly fell before he squeezed Kurt's shoulder and said something softly before leaving the room.

Puck cleared his throat softly noting that Kurt jumped like a skittish animal and it caused a pain in the jock's chest.

"Uh – can we talk?"

Kurt looked a little confused but nodded his assent and took up a seat opposite the jock.

The next fifteen minutes were spent with Puck trying to put into words what he'd come to realise – both about himself – and about his feelings for the brunette. To say that Kurt was shocked was an understatement.

"... and so – that's it – I think..."

Puck closed his mouth and waited for Kurt's response – he'd tried his best to explain everything – from Shaun to the revelation to the apology – everything.

"I- I don't know what to – really?", asked Kurt in shock as Puck nodded, "... it seems so unlikely."

Puck chuckled and was warmed slightly by the fact Kurt wasn't freaking out completely and also hadn't shot him down in flames immediately.

"It's true. I just – no pressure or anything but I wanted you to know."

Kurt nodded and swallowed thickly,

"Thank you for that – but there's something you should know too."

Puck didn't like the answer.

* * *

**A/N: Wow – this has gone a long way off the reservation and gotten a Hell of a lot more complicated than I first envisaged. This was supposed to be boys club together to sing song – and then I got caught up trying to write the motivational back stories to the reason for the song choice! **

**I wrote this all in one sitting over the course of seven hours – it's now 5.30 in the morning and I started writing at 10pm. I'm not convinced that I know really where I'm going to take this story any longer. I think this is just some random bunny I have to get out of my system.**

**Musical credit is Campus by Vampire Weekend.**

**Sorry if it's complete crap. If it is, please feel free to tell me.**

**T-J-B**


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